


Sight and Sound

by tinytardismilkshake



Category: jacksepticeye egos - Fandom
Genre: Anti is evil, Character Study, Chase is blind, Gen, author is legally blind, not plot heavy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-03-29 09:58:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19017598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinytardismilkshake/pseuds/tinytardismilkshake
Summary: Chase lost his vision after an attack by Anti, and he’s terrified.





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Some of you may have seen the screenshots from the Discord ego chats. Chase probably isn’t actually blind, but people talking about it on Tumblr got me wondering how that first day would go.

“No, my friend! Chase, what did they do to you?” Henrik was frantic. First Jack is in a coma, then JJ showed up mute, and now his best friend has lost his sight? He was supposed to be a doctor.

“A- Anti got to my eyes. Everything kind of froze and I couldn’t move, and when I came to I could feel blood on my face and I saw a lot of red- and then-“ Chase was trying to play it cool like this was just another injury, but the facade was breaking. “I- I won’t be able to see JJ talking anymore. Things keep hitting me, all the small things I’ve lost. All the big things. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

Henrik leaned in to hug Chase, and Chase reciprocated, crying. Henrik winced when he noticed that Chase’s eyes were still bleeding a little, but he didn’t back away.

“We’re going to figure this out,” Henrik promised. “I think Marvin knows about computers, so maybe he can help set you up. Let’s get you some tea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edited 10/19/19 to fix a typo I somehow just noticed.


	2. Part 2

Chase started toward the kitchen, trailing the wall with one hand and holding onto Henrik with the other. Once they were in the kitchen, Henrik helped Chase feel the chair so he could sit down. Henrik found Chase’s Lyon tea and started some water, then he called Marvin.

Chase wasn’t listening to the conversation. His eyes hurt and he was scared and he missed the color green and the sunset he hadn’t paid attention to in years. He startled when Henrik said his name.

“Chase? I didn’t mean to startle you. Marvin said he’s on his way, he’ll be here in a few minutes. He knows how to set up some software.”

“Okay,” Chase managed.

“Here’s your tea. I’m holding it with both hands, and the handle will be on your right.”

Chase reached out and felt Henrik’s hands, then the mug. In a way it felt like the nights he drank tea to avoid drinking alcohol, the nights where he needed that sensation more than anything, just to feel real. “Thank you, Henrik.” There was more Chase wanted to say, to express how much it meant that Henrik would always be there for him, even after everything, but he hoped it came through in those few words.


	3. Part 3

Henrik wished he could do more. Chase’s vision wasn’t coming back, Anti had made sure of that. Chase refused to take anything stronger than a Motrin, so there wasn’t much they could do for pain relief. Just as well, at least Chase could be awake and alert when their tech wizard arrived.

Chase sipped his tea, holding the mug with both hands as if he’d rather hug it than drink it. Henrik sat across from him and aimlessly checked the time on his own phone, not wanting to break the reverie. This moment of warmth seemed fragile, just another way to stall the inevitable.

Then a text popped up, followed by a knock at the door. Marvin was here. Chase was done with his tea, so Henrik led him back into the living room on the way to answer the door.

“Hey bros!” Marvin bear-hugged Henrik, then turned to Chase. “So, I heard someone needed some technology assistance?”

Henrik thought that Marvin was doing a great job seeming unphased. It wasn’t exactly a front, Marvin just knew when someone needed to be the practical one and stepped up to the task.

“Uh, yeah,” Chase began, “Henrik said you could set up my phone so I can hear text messages? I want to figure out a way to still be able to talk with JJ.”

“Yep, that’s a big priority. Alright, can I see your phone?”

Marvin turned on some accessibility settings in Chase’s phone and showed him some of the basic shortcuts.

“Okay, so I’m going to text you from my phone, and you should be able to listen to it.”

Chase opened his phone and did a quick motion on the screen. A robotic voice said, “Hey bro, here’s a test text.” Chase grinned. Reading his texts wasn’t nearly as hard as he thought it would be.

Henrik saw the smallest bit of hope cross Chase’s face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was really excited to get to write Marvin into this. Marvin behaves differently under stress, so it was fun to write him contrasting with Henrik. (And we have no proof that Marvin was not an emotional mess between Henrik’s phone call and getting to the house.)  
> I won’t ramble any longer. Suffice it to say I love getting to write both Henrik and Marvin helping Chase in this story.


	4. Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that Chase knows how to use text-to-speech, it's time to pick a voice.

Now that Chase knew he could hear text messages, he wanted to talk to JJ. Jameson had been out "running errands" for awhile, and while no one had said he was avoiding Chase... Chase would have probably done the same if the roles were reversed.  
Chase told his phone to text JJ and dictated, "Hey J, it's Chase. Marv set up my phone so I can hear my texts with a robot voice! Want to help me pick a voice? I'll s-" Chase hesitated. "I love you," he said.  
A text came back from Jameson. Chase opened it, and the robotic voice said, "Marvin sure is handy with technology, isn't he? I never would have considered that a robot could read your messages. I'll be home soon."  
While they waited, Marvin helped Chase practice reading Twitter with the text-to-speech technology. Chase hadn't told anyone else about what had happened. That was a problem for another day.  
When JJ got back, he hugged Chase for a long moment. Chase let go first, and JJ sat at another chair at the kitchen table. Chase heard JJ's sleeves rustling as he signed some then stopped as he remembered that Chase couldn't understand him anymore.  
"Here's what the voice sounds like currently," said Chase. "It's just the default- I wanted you to help me pick."  
Chase replayed JJ's most recent text. Another text from JJ came through. "That doesn't sound at all like me. What are the other options?" Jameson asked.  
Together, they tested out the voices the phone came with. Some were silly, some monotone, and there were a variety of accents. JJ picked a distinguished British voice that still sounded a little robotic, but not too inhuman.  
"I'm so glad this worked," said Chase. "I know it's not the same as signing, but I was afraid I'd never be able to understand you again."  
"I had the same fear," Jameson texted. "Even then, even if I'd had to speak through an interpreter for the rest of our lives, you would always be my brother. I hope you never thought for a moment that I saw you as anything less."  
"This has been hard on all of us," said Chase.  
"He's right," Henrik added. "We're all dealing with this as a family. While I can never understand what Chase is going through, as his family we are all here to figure this out together."  
There was a pause. "Oh! Yes. I was nodding in agreement, sorry," said Marvin. "We are here to support each other no matter what."  
"Aw, thanks guys." Chase stood up. "Group hug?"  
The four gathered together for a much-needed family hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end of this story! I hope you enjoyed it. A couple quick notes:  
> I'm sorry this took so long to finish. This story is really special to me, so I stalled out of perfectionism.  
> This is the end of the story, but it doesn't have to be the end of this universe! I may come back to this world if I have some ideas beyond the immediate aftermath.  
> Thank you for reading if you made it this far! Whether or not blind!Chase is canon, this still means a lot to me and I hope it meant something to you.

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been posting this on my (mostly) Jacksepticeye Tumblr, romanticslimecreature. More parts are currently posted there, so if you want to catch up that’s the place to find it! If not, no worries, the rest will be posted here before long.


End file.
